WHAT ARE SCOOTBGONE PANTS?
ScootBGone pants come in two varieties, original and plus. The original ScootBGone pants are meant to be used on children who are very new scooters or as a preventative measure on children that are just beginning to move around on their own. ScootBGone original can also be helpful for children just beginning to sit up as it stops their bottoms from sliding out from under them as they try to push to a sitting position.
The pants themselves are equipped with an area of extremely high friction co-efficient on the posterior side of the pants. This area is "tacky" but not "sticky". These pants will not slide across a wide variety of surfaces including hardwood, carpet, tile, marble, linoleum, concrete and grass. Note, however, that surfaces covered in debris, such as dirt, gravel or extremely dusty flooring, will limit the ability of the pants to grab. Use in extremely dusty areas, areas with large amount of animal hair or other debris will also cause the pants to become dirty and lose their "tacky" nature. In such instances, cleaning the latex portion of the pants with a damp cloth should return functionality.
SCOOTBGONE PLUS
ScootBGone PLUS adds functionality aimed at children who are stronger more experiences scooters and is ideal for both a clinical setting and for these children at home to prevent them from scooting while away from the clinic.
The PLUS adds an area of latex sheeting to the outsides of both legs as well as straps to help provide a snugger fit to the leg area. More experienced and stronger scooters often curl a leg under their body, use the sides of their legs to motor themselves, an generally use a wide range of tactics in their scooting. The side areas of friction on the PLUS block most of these alternative methods of scooting.
In addition, the PLUS adds a mid-leg strap that allows connection of the two legs just above the knee. This strap serves a number of purposes.
1) Allows children with weak muscle tone to crawl without their legs splaying apart.
2) Stops "W" sitters from being able to do so. (make sure the pants fit properly with the strap just below the knee)
3) Limits children who scoot by spreading their knees to achieve greater leverage.
4) Can gently restrict the ability of Torticollis crawlers to raise one leg vastly in front of the other.
In addition, some therapists have suggested it might be used with Downs children who have begun to walk, but spread their legs far apart.
HOW TO USE SCOOTBGONE PANTS
ScootBGone pants are not what one would term "plug and play". Every child scoots differently and every child will adjust to their environment. Because of this, ScootBGone pants must be adjusted to meet the needs of the child. This is why we suggest ScootBGone PLUS for the vast majority of children beyond the very young. First, observe how your child is scooting. What areas do they scoot along? How do they get their leverage? Then adjust the pants so that the areas of friction fall in those areas and so that the leverage they are getting is limited. Once you achieve a setting that works, your child will attempt to adapt and "get around" this new barrier. When they do, you will need to adjust and change the pants to meet their new needs. During this time, you should also be encouraging and teaching them to move via a crawl. Through constant adapting of the pants and teaching of crawling, the hope is that your child will eventually find crawling the path of least resistance, and scooting the more difficult mode of movement.
Please note, however, that scooting can sometimes be a sign of other neurological issues. If you see your child missing other milestones or suspect there might be more at play, always consult your doctor or an occupational or physical therapist.